Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-02-19

our operations Finally The great day a..
rived when everything was IN readiness to
uncover Pizarro's pocket We had drilled
until We came to . cavity, and into this No
had rammed n immense quantity Of blast
ing powder. We knew that when tho
lighted fuse exploded this tremendous mass
the granite hill would be torn to fragments.
The princess stood with me behind an
enormous bowlder on the mountain side. Az
I talked with her I caught myself more
than once wondering whether, il l married
her, it would be possible in my own country
to pass her of as q Spaniard or q Creole.
/ had no serious intentions, but still I could
not help indulging in some fancifd specula-
tions.
Our men stationed themselves in safe
places, and Conway touched of the fuss
and then ran at his best speed to his place
Of refuge.
Never was there such an explosion. There
was q burst Of flame and thunder. The
eternal granite hills trembled and tottered.
The coppery sky turned black and a huge
cloud Of smoke and dust swirled and drifted
in every direction. Before we could sec
0A1y tAA16 "0 xAO0AO VA0 OAAA4OOO R4OO0A lux
of masses Of rock as they fell to the ground
after their projection into mid air.
Fully ten minutes elapsed before we sum-
hill, which resembled the smoking crater of
. volcano.
"Come, senior" said the princess calmly,
3 in the pocket"
r~H1s-- fNon-~~> -I A. ~~-~ -~ ->1lk>A
and crawled lab~oriously over the debris
chasm.
Leaning cautiously over we peered into
the dusky depth beneath. The thick and
sulphurous smoke still curling up from the
bottom made it impossible to see much.
Rubbing our smarting eyes we withdrew .
short distance and waited patiently.
I was talking to the princess when a ter
rible cry from Conway startled us.
"Look, senorr" cried the princess. "See
to your friend!"
Conway had reeled back against a tree,
and with his hands shading his eyes was
looking in the direction of the chasm. As I
looked the cher men gave a shout of alarm
and rushed into the woods.
Turning around, I saw the cause Of the
general excitement.
Slowly climbing up from the deep gulf
made by the explosion, a gigantic figure
perched himself upon the edge. The fact
that it was evidently a man and not a mon
ster did not tend to reassure us. How conld
q man emerge from that place? A light
feathery smoke drifted .about him like q
drapery. 1t parted, and we saw that the
apparition was clad from head to foot in
plate armor!
I could not doubt my own senses. Per-
fectly motionless the stalwart form con-
fronted us. Every detail of his armor was
perfect, the helmet with the visor down,
the ~cuirass, the greave, and the gauntlets
of fine chain mail.
With the ground under us reeking with
sulphurous steam, and with q pail Of black
smoke settling over us, this menacing figure
appeared to dominate the scene.
What ideas rushed through my mind cam
not now be recalled. I was dazed. My
brain whirled, and it was with difficulty
that I could keep my feet. As for Conway,
he vas worse of than I was. The poor
fellow had never seen a man in armor, not
even on the stage, and, if he was able to
form any opinion at all, he doubtless took
the stranger for the evil one himself.
Before I could realize it the princess ut
tered q hysterical exclamation and rushed
forward. Conway and I both jumped to
the conclusion that in her delirium she was
about to plunge into the bottomless pit. It
completely enveloped the princess and
blinded us for q moment. When it drifted
away Conway shouted:
1.-THE princess! Where is she!"
"And the MANI" I cried out, ''both arc
gope!"
= 1T was true. We stared at each other
in agonized silence.
Another rush Of smoke blinded us and
drove us away.
Had the princess thrown herself into the
abyss, or had the giant in the coat of mail
seized her and leaped down with her in his
arms?
Just then the rumble of s~ubterranean thun-
der deafened us. The mountains swayed
and we were dashed violently to the ground.
The hill into whose bowels tho princess and
the horror had so suddenly disappeared sank
swiftly out Of sight, and in its place APP
emitted jets Of steam. A rain of red dust
began to descend, and balls of fire ran along
the mountain ridges exploding like claps Of
thunder.
Three days later I awoke to consciousness
in a hospital in Lima. My faithful In
dams, being less afraid Of earthquakes and
volcanoes than they were of apparitions,
had come to the rescue of Conway and my
self and carried US off. I found my old
comrade also laid up for repairs. It was
weeks before we were able to travel, and
then Conway refused to accompany me-.
He showed a singular dissemination to talk
about our eventful experience, but when he
shook hands with me at parting he said:
"When the shakes are over, IN get to
the princess or diei''-Wallace p. Reed in
Atlanta Constitution.